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Jaguar Land Rover has announced a temporary halt in production in November as the threat of disruption from a No-Deal Brexit looms. BMW and Toyota have already announced plans for temporary work stoppages at their UK factories. All four of JLR's UK factories are affected.
Although No-Deal Brexit is still not a certainty. Manufacturers like JLR have to plan for the worst. JLR uses 20 million parts a day and needs to have those parts available at just the right time.
Toyota will be stopping production of the Corolla Hatchback and Avensis on November 1st. BMW is planning on stopping Mini production in early November, but Rolls-Royce and BMW engine plants are expected to continue production.
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Jaguar Land Rover has announced a temporary halt in production in November as the threat of disruption from a No-Deal Brexit looms. BMW and Toyota have already announced plans for temporary work stoppages at their UK factories. All four of JLR's UK factories are affected.
Although No-Deal Brexit is still not a certainty. Manufacturers like JLR have to plan for the worst. JLR uses 20 million parts a day and needs to have those parts available at just the right time.
Toyota will be stopping production of the Corolla Hatchback and Avensis on November 1st. BMW is planning on stopping Mini production in early November, but Rolls-Royce and BMW engine plants are expected to continue production.

We reported back in April that the Toyota Tundra and Toyota Tacoma would be consolidated to a single modular platform for their respective next generations. Now Toyota is making a $391 million dollar investment into its San Antonio production line to help smooth the way. The investment is not expected to create any new permanent jobs.
The new platform, internally called F1, will first appear in the next generation Tundra expected in 2021 and eventually spread to all of Toyota's pickups worldwide. Tacoma will move to the F1 platform in 2023 or 2024. The new platform will be capable of electrification. One of the engines rumored for the Tundra is a Twin-Turbo V6 Hybrid with 450 hp and 500 lb.-ft of torque
The Tundra is the oldest full-size pickup on the market today, first debuting in 2007 with the last major update done in 2014.
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We reported back in April that the Toyota Tundra and Toyota Tacoma would be consolidated to a single modular platform for their respective next generations. Now Toyota is making a $391 million dollar investment into its San Antonio production line to help smooth the way. The investment is not expected to create any new permanent jobs.
The new platform, internally called F1, will first appear in the next generation Tundra expected in 2021 and eventually spread to all of Toyota's pickups worldwide. Tacoma will move to the F1 platform in 2023 or 2024. The new platform will be capable of electrification. One of the engines rumored for the Tundra is a Twin-Turbo V6 Hybrid with 450 hp and 500 lb.-ft of torque
The Tundra is the oldest full-size pickup on the market today, first debuting in 2007 with the last major update done in 2014.

Honda is continuing its global pull back of production by announcing it will cease automotive manufacturing operations in Argentina next year. This is after announcing the closure of its Swindon UK plant and the pull back of production in the U.S., mainly of the Civic and Accord. Honda is in the midst of consolidating production to fewer facilities and using fewer platforms to produce their vehicles.
Honda said it's plant in Campana, which produces the HR-V will focus solely on manufacturing motorcycles. Honda is in talks with the local union to potentially offer buyouts to those who will be affected by the cessation of automotive production. The total plant population is over 1,000 workers. Honda has been building motorcycles in Argentina since 2006 and automobiles since 2011.
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Polestar has opened their factory in Chengdu, China to begin production of the Polestar 1. The factory was designed to achieve a Gold status LEED certification.
The Polestar 1 is a luxury hybrid coupe that boasts over 600 horsepower and 1,000 nm (738 lb-ft) of torque and an electric only range of 93 miles. It is a limited production run of 500 vehicles per year and most of the early allocations are sold out.
One other announcement came with the factory press release. Polestar has filed for and received their World Manufacturing Identifier, basically their character in the VIN that identifies them. This means that Polestar manufactured vehicles will not have a Volvo VIN but a Polestar VIN instead. Polestar will still apply their performance technology know-how to higher performance Volvos.
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Polestar has opened their factory in Chengdu, China to begin production of the Polestar 1. The factory was designed to achieve a Gold status LEED certification.
The Polestar 1 is a luxury hybrid coupe that boasts over 600 horsepower and 1,000 nm (738 lb-ft) of torque and an electric only range of 93 miles. It is a limited production run of 500 vehicles per year and most of the early allocations are sold out.
One other announcement came with the factory press release. Polestar has filed for and received their World Manufacturing Identifier, basically their character in the VIN that identifies them. This means that Polestar manufactured vehicles will not have a Volvo VIN but a Polestar VIN instead. Polestar will still apply their performance technology know-how to higher performance Volvos.

The Ram Classic could live on indefinitely as long as it make business sense says FCA CEO Michael Manley. At an investors meeting, Manley suggested that it might even get an update. Ram recently introduced a new Warlock package on the 1500 Classic, indicating their willingness to invest in the aging platform.
Ram currently doesn't have a mid-size offering in its stable, and without one on the horizon, the Ram 1500 Classic fills the niche of a lower priced truck. The base Tradesman model rings up at $29,340 and can be configured all the way up to a Big Horn with a 5.7 liter Hemi V8 at $46,240. That contrasts with the new Ram 1500 which starts at $35,135.
One thing keeping the Classic around has done is allowed the RAM to creep ahead of the Chevrolet Silverado in the truck sales race, moving to the number two spot in market share for this class of truck.
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Honda is continuing its global pull back of production by announcing it will cease automotive manufacturing operations in Argentina next year. This is after announcing the closure of its Swindon UK plant and the pull back of production in the U.S., mainly of the Civic and Accord. Honda is in the midst of consolidating production to fewer facilities and using fewer platforms to produce their vehicles.
Honda said it's plant in Campana, which produces the HR-V will focus solely on manufacturing motorcycles. Honda is in talks with the local union to potentially offer buyouts to those who will be affected by the cessation of automotive production. The total plant population is over 1,000 workers. Honda has been building motorcycles in Argentina since 2006 and automobiles since 2011.

Honda is cutting back on production at two of its U.S. plants in anticipation of a slide in sales. The Marysville, Ohio plant and Honda of Indiana are the two plants being affected. The cuts primarily come to the Accord and Civic built in Marysville. Marysville operates two lines and one shift at Marysville on Line 1 will be suspended temporarily. That line produces the Accord, CR-V, ILX, and TLX, but the cuts there will mostly impact Accord. Acura production is unchanged at this time. The CR-V is also produced in Indiana so some production can be shifted from Marysville to there. This news comes after the announcement of the closure of Honda's Swindon UK manufacturing plant which builds the CR-V for Europe and the Honda Civic Hatchback and Civic Type-R for the U.S.
Honda sales are down 0.9% for the year, but the Accord has slipped 5.9% July YTD, and the Civic which is Honda's second most popular model has slipped 2.1% July YTD. CR-V, which is Honda's biggest seller is also down 0.9%, but a light refresh is in the works for the CR-V and should debut soon.
Honda says these adjustments are to help maintain Honda's sales discipline and to flex to the shift in market demand away from sedans. Honda has already announced they are looking to trim fat from their model lineup and have fewer regionally specific models. They will also be reducing the number of variations available to one third of what they are today. These plans are to be completed by 2025.
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Honda is cutting back on production at two of its U.S. plants in anticipation of a slide in sales. The Marysville, Ohio plant and Honda of Indiana are the two plants being affected. The cuts primarily come to the Accord and Civic built in Marysville. Marysville operates two lines and one shift at Marysville on Line 1 will be suspended temporarily. That line produces the Accord, CR-V, ILX, and TLX, but the cuts there will mostly impact Accord. Acura production is unchanged at this time. The CR-V is also produced in Indiana so some production can be shifted from Marysville to there. This news comes after the announcement of the closure of Honda's Swindon UK manufacturing plant which builds the CR-V for Europe and the Honda Civic Hatchback and Civic Type-R for the U.S.
Honda sales are down 0.9% for the year, but the Accord has slipped 5.9% July YTD, and the Civic which is Honda's second most popular model has slipped 2.1% July YTD. CR-V, which is Honda's biggest seller is also down 0.9%, but a light refresh is in the works for the CR-V and should debut soon.
Honda says these adjustments are to help maintain Honda's sales discipline and to flex to the shift in market demand away from sedans. Honda has already announced they are looking to trim fat from their model lineup and have fewer regionally specific models. They will also be reducing the number of variations available to one third of what they are today. These plans are to be completed by 2025.

As we reported in May, Volkswagen is making big cuts to the Golf lineup in the US. Already announced for end of production in 2019 are the Golf Sportwagen and Golf Alltrack.
For 2020, the current base Mk7 Golf returns and will be offered in just one trim, called the Value Edition that includes features like Keyless entry, Wifi, heated seats, and 16-Inch alloy wheels while the GTI will come in S and SE trims. Missing from the 2020 lineup is the Golf R. Volkswagen has confirmed to Motor Authority that the Golf R has reached end of production for the current generation.
The Mk8 generation will likely see the base Golf removed from the US lineup and the GTI and Golf R will be the only entries. We'll see the Mk8 generation Golf introduced in the fall of this year for European production in 2020, but the U.S. won't see the new version of the Golf/GTI at dealerships until the 2021 model year.
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As we reported in May, Volkswagen is making big cuts to the Golf lineup in the US. Already announced for end of production in 2019 are the Golf Sportwagen and Golf Alltrack.
For 2020, the current base Mk7 Golf returns and will be offered in just one trim, called the Value Edition that includes features like Keyless entry, Wifi, heated seats, and 16-Inch alloy wheels while the GTI will come in S and SE trims. Missing from the 2020 lineup is the Golf R. Volkswagen has confirmed to Motor Authority that the Golf R has reached end of production for the current generation.
The Mk8 generation will likely see the base Golf removed from the US lineup and the GTI and Golf R will be the only entries. We'll see the Mk8 generation Golf introduced in the fall of this year for European production in 2020, but the U.S. won't see the new version of the Golf/GTI at dealerships until the 2021 model year.

The Ram Classic could live on indefinitely as long as it make business sense says FCA CEO Michael Manley. At an investors meeting, Manley suggested that it might even get an update. Ram recently introduced a new Warlock package on the 1500 Classic, indicating their willingness to invest in the aging platform.
Ram currently doesn't have a mid-size offering in its stable, and without one on the horizon, the Ram 1500 Classic fills the niche of a lower priced truck. The base Tradesman model rings up at $29,340 and can be configured all the way up to a Big Horn with a 5.7 liter Hemi V8 at $46,240. That contrasts with the new Ram 1500 which starts at $35,135.
One thing keeping the Classic around has done is allowed the RAM to creep ahead of the Chevrolet Silverado in the truck sales race, moving to the number two spot in market share for this class of truck.

The Dodge Caravan is one of the vehicles that helped saved Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s. Introduced in November 1983, the Caravan, along with the Plymouth Voyager, was based on the K-Car platform championed by Lee Iaccoca. Chrysler recently re-introduced the Voyager under the Chrysler brand as the low cost entry into the minivan market. The Voyager is a low cost version of the Chrysler Pacifica Minivan that was introduced in 2016. Dodge continued production of the Grand Caravan as the low-cost model while the Pacifica aims for higher end customers.
The Voyager, starting at $26,958, will come in three trims, L, LX, and LXi, the last one reserved for fleet buyers. Chrysler has previously taken this two-prong approach of Voyager being the value option and Town & Country being the premium offering during the 2001 - 2007 time frame. Voyager production begins in August 2019 at Chrysler's Windsor Ontario plant and will run alongside the Grand Caravan for now.
If you're looking for a Grand Caravan, you have some time left. The Grand Caravan is scheduled to go out of production in May 2020.
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The Dodge Caravan is one of the vehicles that helped saved Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s. Introduced in November 1983, the Caravan, along with the Plymouth Voyager, was based on the K-Car platform championed by Lee Iaccoca. Chrysler recently re-introduced the Voyager under the Chrysler brand as the low cost entry into the minivan market. The Voyager is a low cost version of the Chrysler Pacifica Minivan that was introduced in 2016. Dodge continued production of the Grand Caravan as the low-cost model while the Pacifica aims for higher end customers.
The Voyager, starting at $26,958, will come in three trims, L, LX, and LXi, the last one reserved for fleet buyers. Chrysler has previously taken this two-prong approach of Voyager being the value option and Town & Country being the premium offering during the 2001 - 2007 time frame. Voyager production begins in August 2019 at Chrysler's Windsor Ontario plant and will run alongside the Grand Caravan for now.
If you're looking for a Grand Caravan, you have some time left. The Grand Caravan is scheduled to go out of production in May 2020.

The march towards majority SUVs continues on and the two newest casualties are the Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen and the Golf Alltrack. As we predicted a month ago, Volkswagen will end production of the two vehicles in the 2019 model year, though in the case of the Alltrack, production will be extended to December.
Volkswagen says that with 50 percent of their sales being SUVs, consumer tastes have shifted strongly to SUVs, and VW is responding by releasing three new SUVs over the next 2 years. First up, will be a 5-seater Atlas Cross Sport being unveiled later this year, then the ID.CROZZ electric SUV early next year, and a just announced SUV to slot below the Tiguan is planned for 2021. While Volkswagen says their new ID EV platform can be used for bodystyles of the past, apparently the station wagon is not one planned.
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The march towards majority SUVs continues on and the two newest casualties are the Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen and the Golf Alltrack. As we predicted a month ago, Volkswagen will end production of the two vehicles in the 2019 model year, though in the case of the Alltrack, production will be extended to December.
Volkswagen says that with 50 percent of their sales being SUVs, consumer tastes have shifted strongly to SUVs, and VW is responding by releasing three new SUVs over the next 2 years. First up, will be a 5-seater Atlas Cross Sport being unveiled later this year, then the ID.CROZZ electric SUV early next year, and a just announced SUV to slot below the Tiguan is planned for 2021. While Volkswagen says their new ID EV platform can be used for bodystyles of the past, apparently the station wagon is not one planned.

Over the weekend, Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on Model Y production. Originally thought to be slated for production at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada, Tesla appears to have changed course.
Reported by Bloomberg, Musk said "Right now our default plan is to produce the Y at Fremont." during an interview on the "Ride the Lightning" podcast. "I was skeptical about whether this made sense at first, but my team convinced me the fastest way to get volume production is to do the Y at Fremont."
In order to free up space in the factory, Tesla plans to move Model S and Model X to a single line, according to current and former employees. Both models have seen sales tumble over the last 6 months as Model 3 sales increased.
Model Y sits on the same platform as the Model 3 and production is set to start in late 2020.
In the same podcast, Tesla made some claims about the upcoming Tesla truck. He said "It won't look like a normal truck. It's going to be pretty sci-fi" adding "It's going to be a truck that is more capable than other trucks. It will be a better truck than an equivalent F-150 in terms of truck-like functionality. That's the aspiration."

Over the weekend, Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on Model Y production. Originally thought to be slated for production at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada, Tesla appears to have changed course.
Reported by Bloomberg, Musk said "Right now our default plan is to produce the Y at Fremont." during an interview on the "Ride the Lightning" podcast. "I was skeptical about whether this made sense at first, but my team convinced me the fastest way to get volume production is to do the Y at Fremont."
In order to free up space in the factory, Tesla plans to move Model S and Model X to a single line, according to current and former employees. Both models have seen sales tumble over the last 6 months as Model 3 sales increased.
Model Y sits on the same platform as the Model 3 and production is set to start in late 2020.
In the same podcast, Tesla made some claims about the upcoming Tesla truck. He said "It won't look like a normal truck. It's going to be pretty sci-fi" adding "It's going to be a truck that is more capable than other trucks. It will be a better truck than an equivalent F-150 in terms of truck-like functionality. That's the aspiration."
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Ford is adding 550 workers to their Kentucky plant that builds the Navigator and Expedition in order to meet surging retail demand for the big SUVs. Retail sales were up 35% which has netted Ford a 5.6% gain in market-share for the Expedition. The Navigator is doing even better with a 70% increase in sales.
Ford has already increased line speed and split some jobs to multiple people in an attempt to increase production. Vehicle production will be increased after the July shutdown.
Along with the increase in production, Ford will be starting an advertising campaign focusing on the size and spaciousness of the Expedition.
Ford increasing job and production in the US stands in sharp contrast to the steep cuts of over 6,000 jobs Ford announced for Europe.
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Mercedes-Benz has annouced that the new Maybach SUV, built on the Mercedes-Benz GLS will be built exclusively in Alabama. With an expected price over $200,000, the new SUV will then be the most expensive vehicle to be built in the U.S.
Mercedes-Benz plans to expand the Maybach brand to other models where it makes sense in the upper end of the Mercedes lineup.
The Mercedes Maybach GLS will have a V8 with north of 560 horsepower and will likely debut in China later this year. The vehicle is aimed primarily at the chauffeur driven population in China and as such, the rear seats are set up in a lounge like fashion.
The Alabama operation is also getting battery manufacturing operations, more than twice the size of the original assembly plant, due to build EQ vehicles starting in 2020. The factory, which is capable of producing more than 300,000 units a year, exports approximately two-thirds of its production.
Related:
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Ford is adding 550 workers to their Kentucky plant that builds the Navigator and Expedition in order to meet surging retail demand for the big SUVs. Retail sales were up 35% which has netted Ford a 5.6% gain in market-share for the Expedition. The Navigator is doing even better with a 70% increase in sales.
Ford has already increased line speed and split some jobs to multiple people in an attempt to increase production. Vehicle production will be increased after the July shutdown.
Along with the increase in production, Ford will be starting an advertising campaign focusing on the size and spaciousness of the Expedition.
Ford increasing job and production in the US stands in sharp contrast to the steep cuts of over 6,000 jobs Ford announced for Europe.

Mercedes-Benz has annouced that the new Maybach SUV, built on the Mercedes-Benz GLS will be built exclusively in Alabama. With an expected price over $200,000, the new SUV will then be the most expensive vehicle to be built in the U.S.
Mercedes-Benz plans to expand the Maybach brand to other models where it makes sense in the upper end of the Mercedes lineup.
The Mercedes Maybach GLS will have a V8 with north of 560 horsepower and will likely debut in China later this year. The vehicle is aimed primarily at the chauffeur driven population in China and as such, the rear seats are set up in a lounge like fashion.
The Alabama operation is also getting battery manufacturing operations, more than twice the size of the original assembly plant, due to build EQ vehicles starting in 2020. The factory, which is capable of producing more than 300,000 units a year, exports approximately two-thirds of its production.
Related:

Over 8 Million Ford Taurus cars have been built over the years as U.S. Taurus production came to a close yesterday in Chicago. The Taurus was first introduced at the 1985 Los Angeles Auto Show. The original Taurus changed the design landscape for family cars in the U.S. from a traditional boxy shape to a very rounded aerodynamic one. Offered in sedan and wagon variants, the popular model became the best selling car in America by 1992. In 1989, the SHO was introduced, a 220 horsepower V6 engine provided by Yamaha. There was a two-year pause from 2006 to 2008 when the model was called the Ford Five Hundred.
While the Taurus is ending in the U.S. an unrelated Taurus continues production in China. The Chinese Taurus was introduced in 2016 and is based on an extended Ford Fusion platform.
Though production of the Taurus has ended in Chicago, Ford is investing $1 billion to expand their Chicago Assembly Plant and Chicago Stamping plant to get ready for the 2020 Ford Explorer , Ford Police Interceptor, and Lincoln Aviator. Ford is replacing or updating 75% of its U.S. lineup by the end of 2020.
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